Libya: Who's Terrorizing Whom

WASHINGTON, D.C., March 26, 1996 -- Today, the Washington Post reported
unrest in Libya which the Libyans believe is led by a Col. Khalifa
Haftar based in the U.S. On May 17, 1991 the Washington Times reported
that three hundred and fifty Libyans would arrive soon in the United
States. So what's the connection?

It turns out that the Libyans who arrived in the U.S. in 1991 were
not the Libyan President Ghaddafi's terrorists. They were our folks,
trained by our CIA. These terrorists, which our government (ever mindful
of our sensitivities) prefers to call guerillas, were trained by our CIA
to topple President Ghaddafi. Last December 1990 when a new government
less sympathetic to our mission was formed in Chad, we tried to find
another home for our folks. It seemed that no one wanted our recruits,
and so they were flown to the United States from Kenya where they were
being temporarily housed. Col. Haftar was part of this group.

Col. Haftar is now reported to be the leader of a contra-style group
based in the U.S. called the Libyan National Army. This group is supported by the U.S., and has
been given training facilities in the U.S. It's a good presumption that
Col. Haftar's group operates in Libya with the blessings of our
government.

The question is, "Is Libya terrorizing the U.S., or is the U.S.
terrorizing Libya?"